Effect of deposition parameters on structural and mechanicalproperties of niobium nitride synthesized by plasma focus device

Effects of deposition angle and axial distance on the structural and mechanical properties of niobium nitride synthesized by a dense plasma focus (DPF) system are studied. The x-ray diffraction (XRD) confirms that the deposition parameters affect the growth of multi-phase niobium nitride. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) shows the granular surface morphology with strong thermally assisted coagulation effects observed at the 5-cm axial distance. The non-porous granular morphology observed at the 9-cm distance along the anode axis is different from those observed at deposition angles of 10° and 20°. Energy dispersive x-ray (EDX) spectroscopy reveals the maximum nitrogen content at the shortest (5 cm) axial position. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) exhibits that the roughness of coated films varies for coatings synthesized at different axial and angular positions, and the Vickers micro-hardness test shows that a maximum hardness value is (08.44± 0.01) GPa for niobium nitride synthesized at 5-cm axial distance, which is about 500% more than that of a virgin sample.